The U.S. Men’s National Team is set to square off against Mexico in a World Cup qualifier at the historic Estadio Azteca on Sunday. These matches always bring out the best in both teams, and this game looks to be no exception.
However, going into the Lion’s Den and emerging victorious with a win at Mexico’s historic stadium have been extremely uncommon for Stars and Stripes in recent years. Still, this is a reconstituted American squad under the leadership of newly-appointed manager Bruce Arena.
Let’s take a deeper look at the upcoming match and how the two teams match up.
History says…
The two teams have played a total of 26 games at Azteca, with Mexico having the better of the results (23-1-2). The stadium is a magnet for Mexican success for a host of reasons. First, there’s the altitude. While the United States just played Trinidad and Tobago in a stadium that was one mile above sea level, the Estadio Azteca sits at 7,200 feet above. Having oxygen readily available helps, but clearly the advantage goes to El Tri, who are more accustomed to playing at a high altitude. The stadium reportedly holds around 87,000 fans, but somehow closer to 100,000 supporters manage to fill the rafters. The noise in terms of decibel levels is often deafening, and rather partisan. Expect the hotel fire alarms to ring in the middle of the night, disturbing the sleep of the U.S. team, along with the team bus being harassed by some of the locals. The goal, of course, is to disrupt the performance of any visiting team, and El Tri’s supporters often do just that.
What to Expect on the Pitch
Manager Juan Carlos Osorio took a gamble by resting a few key players from the team’s most recent match against Honduras on Thursday night, which paid off, and resulted in a 3-0 win. The challenge for the United States is to try to attack an injury-riddled defense without leaving themselves open to a Mexican counter-attack. But it is more than likely that the U.S. will try to play a slower, more deliberate style of play than they did against Honduras to protect their flanks. Expect El Tri to try to work the ball quickly up the flanks and keep the pressure in the U.S. final third of the field.
Key Injuries
Mexico will be without defenders Carlos Salcedo and Rafael Marquez, as well as midfielders Andres Guardado and Miguel Layun. Since Marquez has been out, Diego Reyes has filled in admirably for him, while Jonathan dos Santos filled in capably for Guardado in the playmaking role against Honduras.
The United States suffered no injuries on Thursday night and will likely start a similar line-up to the one we saw against Trinidad and Tobago, for the most part.
X-Factors in the Match
For El Tri, it is clearly the loss of four of their starters. While they seemed to win almost effortlessly against Honduras, the United States should present more of a challenge for them.
Prediction
While Mexico is five points clear in the hexagon group standings and has already defeated the United States in their away game, it’s expected that El Tri will come away with all three points playing at home. Points aside, a tie or a loss might see El Tri through to playing in Russia, but may not look god for the manager.
We believe the U.S. will keep the match close but lose due to a late goal in the game, 3-2.
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